A South Korean-born U.S. permanent resident and Lyme disease researcher has been detained by immigration authorities for more than a week after arriving at San Francisco International Airport, raising alarm among advocates who say the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation push is targeting long-settled immigrants.
Tae Heung “Will” Kim, 40, who has lived in the United States since the age of 5, was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers on July 21 after flying into SFO from South Korea, where he had attended his younger brother’s wedding. Kim, a Ph.D. candidate at Texas A&M University working on a vaccine for Lyme disease, has a misdemeanor marijuana possession conviction from over a decade ago, which attorneys believe may be behind his detention.
As of Tuesday, it was unclear whether Kim was still being held at the airport or had been moved to an ICE detention center. A spokesperson for CBP confirmed only that Kim “is in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.”
Chris Godshall-Bennett, one of Kim’s attorneys, said immigration officials have offered no formal explanation for his detention and have denied his legal team any direct contact with him.
“We’re seeing a disturbing trend of people with green cards being detained for old, low-level offenses,” said Godshall-Bennett. “This administration promised to deport ‘the worst of the worst,’ but what we’re seeing is something far broader and far more damaging.”
Under federal law, lawful permanent residents with drug convictions — even minor ones — can be subject to deportation. Kim’s case stems from a 2011 marijuana possession arrest in Texas, for which he performed community service. His attorneys believe he qualifies for a waiver, since the charge was a misdemeanor and involved less than 30 grams of marijuana.
Still, immigration enforcement appears to be intensifying under President Trump’s renewed deportation push. ICE arrests have spiked roughly 70% across Northern California compared to the final six months of the Biden administration. While arrests of individuals with criminal records have risen, data shows that detentions of those with pending immigration violations or minor offenses have grown even faster.
“This is someone who’s contributing to public health research — and they’re locking him up in an airport holding cell with no sunlight, no bed, and no access to an attorney,” said Eric Lee, another of Kim’s lawyers. Lee described Kim’s detention on X (formerly Twitter) as “another brutal attack on immigrants & science.”
According to Lee and Godshall-Bennett, Kim’s family has had only limited contact with him. His brother, who recently got married, managed a brief phone conversation, but Kim has had no communication with his attorneys.
Kim’s case echoes that of other recent detentions at SFO, including an Irish woman with a decades-old criminal record who was held for over two weeks before being released following public pressure. Advocates say that airport detentions are increasingly common and that CBP facilities aren’t equipped for extended confinement.
“You can’t even change your underwear in there,” Godshall-Bennett said. “These aren’t conditions anyone should be subjected to, much less someone with legal status.”
Catherine Seitz, legal director of the Immigration Institute of the Bay Area, said Kim’s prolonged detention was atypical. “Normally, they’d be told to come back for another interview,” she said. “But under this administration, we’re seeing a much heavier reliance on detention right out of the gate.”
Kim’s legal team is working to halt his deportation and secure his release, arguing that his deep ties to the U.S., minor conviction, and critical scientific work should outweigh any justification for removal.
“They found an excuse to remove somebody who’s not a citizen, and they’re taking every opportunity to do it—regardless of how long they’ve been here or what they contribute,” Godshall-Bennett said. “God forbid we all start getting deported for minor marijuana charges.”
